In port city of Mariupol, Ukrainians see few signs of government preparing for Russian invasion

"What preparations?" scoffs Oleg Budnikov, a 69-year-old resident of the southeast Ukrainian village of Pavlopil, when asked what the government is doing to prepare the area for a possible Russian incursion. 

"Only God prepares in this country," he laughs as he loads fertilizer into his cart.

This is the scene in southeastern Ukraine, only a few kilometres from the so-called line of control between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk region.

Despite a massive buildup of Russian military forces just across the border, there are few, if any, signs that locals or authorities have made contingencies for an offensive that U.S. officials have been warning may be only days away (although there were indications Tuesday that Russia may be pulling some troops back).

WATCH | Ukraine is training ordinary citizens for possible combat with Russia:

Pavlopil sits about 15 kilometres north of the city of Mariupol, a key Ukrainian port on the Sea of Azov. The village has seen its share of fighting: in late 2014, fighters from the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) briefly captured the settlement, before a Ukrainian counter-offensive drove them out.

In the time since, many residents have left the village, dismayed by the regular gunfire nearby. Those who have stayed have few plans.

Viktor Tsado, 72, is one such resident.

"About half [of the village] has left," he said, sitting in his wheelchair and smoking a cigarette outside his home. "They did not want to deal with this," he said, gesturing to the east, where DNR positions lay just beyond the horizon.

Other citizens feel the same.

"The military is nearby," said Tatiana Kopchenko, 32, a native of the village who now spends most of her time in Mariupol with her two young children. "We will manage on our own [if something happens]."

Violations of the 2014 ceasefire reached between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in the area have been intermittently growing in recent weeks.

On Jan. 27, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission reported 510 violations on the previous day in the Donetsk region, nearly double the daily average in 2021. On Feb. 11, that number was 738.

Several bursts of automatic gunfire were audible during CBC's visit on Sunday.